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[DOCID: f:s522is.txt]






107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 522

  To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 conduct a pilot program to raise awareness about telecommuting among 
  small business employers, and to encourage such employers to offer 
                  telecommuting options to employees.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 13, 2001

 Mr. Kerry (for himself, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Cleland, and Mr. Wellstone) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                      Committee on Small Business

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to 
 conduct a pilot program to raise awareness about telecommuting among 
  small business employers, and to encourage such employers to offer 
                  telecommuting options to employees.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Small Business Telecommuting Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
            (1) telecommuting reduces the volume of peak commuter 
        traffic, thereby reducing traffic congestion and air pollution;
            (2) the Nation's communities can benefit from 
        telecommuting, which gives workers more time to spend at home 
        with their families;
            (3) it is in the national interest to raise awareness 
        within the small business community of telecommuting options 
        for employees;
            (4) the small business community can benefit from offering 
        telecommuting options to employees because such options make it 
        easier for small employers to retain valued employees and 
        employees with irreplaceable institutional memory;
            (5) companies with telecommuting programs have found that 
        telecommuting can boost employee productivity 5 percent to 20 
        percent, thereby saving businesses valuable resources and time;
            (6) 60 percent of the workforce is involved in information 
        work (an increase of 43 percent since 1990), allowing and 
        encouraging decentralization of paid work to occur; and
            (7) individuals with disabilities, including disabled 
        American veterans, who own or are employed by small businesses 
        could benefit from telecommuting to their workplaces.

SEC. 3. SMALL BUSINESS TELECOMMUTING PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--In accordance with this Act, the Administrator 
shall conduct, in not more than 5 of the Small Business 
Administration's regions, a pilot program to raise awareness about 
telecommuting among small business employers and to encourage such 
employers to offer telecommuting options to employees.
    (b) Special Outreach to Individuals With Disabilities.--In carrying 
out subsection (a), the Administrator shall make special efforts to do 
outreach to--
            (1) businesses owned by or employing individuals with 
        disabilities, and disabled American veterans in particular;
            (2) Federal, State, and local agencies having knowledge and 
        expertise in assisting individuals with disabilities or 
        disabled American veterans; and
            (3) any group or organization, the primary purpose of which 
        is to aid individuals with disabilities or disabled American 
        veterans.
    (c) Permissible Activities.--In carrying out the pilot program, the 
Administrator may only--
            (1) produce educational materials and conduct presentations 
        designed to raise awareness in the small business community of 
        the benefits and the ease of telecommuting;
            (2) conduct outreach--
                    (A) to small business concerns that are considering 
                offering telecommuting options; and
                    (B) as provided in subsection (b); and
            (3) acquire telecommuting technologies and equipment to be 
        used for demonstration purposes.
    (d) Selection of Regions.--In determining which regions will 
participate in the pilot program, the Administrator shall give priority 
consideration to regions in which Federal agencies and private-sector 
employers have demonstrated a strong regional commitment to 
telecommuting.

SEC. 4. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    Not later than 2 years after the first date on which funds are 
appropriated to carry out this Act, the Administrator shall transmit to 
the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Small Business of the Senate a report containing the 
results of an evaluation of the pilot program and any recommendations 
as to whether the pilot program, with or without modification, should 
be extended to include the participation of all Small Business 
Administration regions.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Small Business Administration;
            (2) the term ``disability'' has the same meaning as in 
        section 3 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 
        U.S.C. 12102);
            (3) the term ``pilot program'' means the program 
        established under section 3; and
            (4) the term ``telecommuting'' means the use of 
        telecommunications to perform work functions under 
        circumstances which reduce or eliminate the need to commute.

SEC. 6. TERMINATION.

    The pilot program shall terminate 2 years after the first date on 
which funds are appropriated to carry out this Act.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Small Business 
Administration $5,000,000 to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>

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